The purpose of the Nittany Valley Running Club is to establish a sound, continuing program of youth and adult fitness, to promote development and competition for all age groups, and to conscientiously prepare athletes for competition.

The officers listened to Katrina D'Anca, the Race Director for the NVHM talk about some possible changes to the two loops. There were some suggestions from the officers and Katrina will look into Trout Road and Houserville area. She will report back.

Cheryl Capone pitched her idea for the free Spring training series at Tudek Park. Cheryl and Christine Dorman will teach and lead runners on topics/challenges that runners face, with the focus on instruction and proper technique. The officers were excited about this training and have approved this to be a NVRC event. She will report back at the April meeting with dates for the training. In depth details about the training will be posted then.

Deloris Beobeck and Tara Murray spoke about the Give 'Em 5 Race. This will be on Sunday October 29th. This will be a 5 mile and 5k run / walk event. They are working with the Veterans Assistance Fund and are looking for volunteers. Print outs are being worked on. David Eggler will time the race.

Bob Shafer reported there will be a total of 21 races for the Race Series. They are looking to add some trail races.

Minutes of the December 3, 2013 meeting of the NVRC

The club officers instituted a new format for the December NVRC meeting. In order to keep the meeting a little more social, the board met at 6pm to conduct business and the regular meeting began as usual at 6:30.

Grant request from St. Joseph's Catholic Academy

Jayson Jackson submitted a grant request to support 5 athletes from St. Joseph's to compete at the Nike Cross Nationals Northeast Regional in Wappinger Falls, NY Nov. 29-30. The officers voted to grant $650 to help with athletes' registration and travel expenses.

Sue Crowe Memorial Arts Fest Races

The proceeds from these races go to a cause that Sue Crowe would have supported. The board voted to donate the proceeds from the 2013 races ($500) to St. Joseph's for cross country and track & field.

NVRC race series

Jake Clements was unable to attend the meeting due to illness. Marty Mazur reported that Jake's computer had a hardware failure so the race series results have not been updated. Marty will contact Jake and get an update on the 2013 series.

RRCA insurance requirements

Marty Klanchar reported that as part of our insurance policy, the RRCA now strongly recommends that all Club members sign an annual waiver of liability for all activities they participate in related to the Club. This waiver also needs to be signed by guests (nonmembers) showing up for group runs, track workouts, meetings, etc. The board agreed to increase insurance coverage to $2 million.

Commerical timing for club events

The NVRC has employed Runner's High (Mark Courney) for race timing. This year, Mike Casper hired PA Runners to time the Mountainback. The board agreed to leave race timing to the discretion of the race director. Mike will continue to investigate options for the 2014 Mountainback.

Indoor miles

Marty Klanchar is directing the club's Indoor Mile Series again this year. He recommended expanding the prizes (gift certificates) and the board agreed to contribute up to $200.

Marty Mazur welcomed everyone to the meeting and announced results of the recent elections. Bob Crowe decided not to run for another term as president and Amy Blake was elected to replace him. All other officers are continuing: treasurer Dave Eggler, communications director Marty Mazur, and secretary/archivist Tara Murray.

Marty encouraged everyone to come to the Nittany Valley Half Marathon on Sunday, either to run or volunteer.

Marty announced that the club will once again hold a series of indoor mile races in January and February, directed by Marty Klanchar. The races take place at the Penn State indoor track in conjunction with Penn State meets. These races are free for members and help grow membership because membership is required to participate. Runners of all speeds and experience levels race.

Dave Eggler announced that the First Night Resolution Run will be the first big race of the coming year (even though it's on Dec. 31). It cracked 1,000 runners for the first time last year!

Mike Casper made a presentation on behalf of the Tussey Mountainback. The race saw course records fall this year and had saw of local participation as well as nationally recognized runners. All proceeds are going to the House of Care. Mike invited volunteer coordinator Grace Small to join him in presenting a $15,000 check to the House of Care. Mike then presented Grace with a new "Inspiration Award." Grace and House of Care board member Angela Linse expressed their gratitude for being the Mountainback recipient and explained House of Care's work. House of Care now also has its own race.

Marty announced that Marathoners for Medicine, a group of people who run spring marathons and half marathons for Centre Volunteers in Medicine, will be starting up again soon. While the group is focusing on the Boston and Pittsburgh marathons, anyone running a spring full or half marathon (from March to June) is encouraged to join the team by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Marty mentioned that the Bellefonte Road Raiders will host a Christmas lights run on the Thursday before Christmas and are collecting donations for Pets Come First. Marty will again put together a State College run and would like to collect donations for a charity as well.

Marty mentioned that the race series has experienced some technical difficulties, but the club will make sure the results are published on time for awards at the February club meeting.

Next meeting: Tuesday, February 4, 2014.

Suunto T6 and T6c Heart Rate Monitors

Long regarded by many as one of the best HRM’s on the market for runners and bikers I have found that for me the Suunto t-6 lives up to it’s lofty reputation.Admittedly I’m somewhat of a gear head when it comes to “running technologies”… however almost daily use of the t-6 for the past year has had definite and measureable benefit.

If nothing else all HRM’s are good motivational tools.There is nothing (much) more satisfying than seeing graphically that all the hard runs, crappy weather and miscellaneous aches and pains were worth it in the form of improved performance. Use of the t-6 along with it’s bundled training software has shown that I am able to run farther and/or faster while doing less “work” than I was a year ago this time.I am doing the same runs faster and with a definite 4 to 5 bpm reduction in average heart rate as wellDecent enough motivation on those days when it would be easier to stay in bed at 5:00AM than get up and go for a ten miler in the drizzle.

Equipment Reviews

This section contains equipment reviews submitted by Club members. Feel free to send reviews for publication here to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..